Green News
As Costs Rise, Energy Efficiency High On Checklist Of Home Buyer
Published: Friday, September 15, 2006
The message of energy efficiency has got through to 90 per cent of home buyers in the Toronto and Ottawa areas, according to a survey released this week.
EnerQuality Corp., which oversees the federal Energy Star for New Homes program in Ontario, says an independent survey found that 9 out of 10 people buying single-family homes in those markets this year were looking for increased energy efficiency.
Their motivation was mostly financial — more than six out of 10 gave energy bills as the main reason.
Being environmentally friendly was rated second — 15 per cent said that that was their goal. The rest mentioned greater comfort or better resale value.
"I am not surprised to see that saving money is the No. 1 reason behind the growing demand for energy-efficient housing," said Corey McBurney, who heads EnerQuality in Ontario. "Builders have been telling us for some time that home buyers want to protect themselves against rising energy costs."
Four out of five new-home owners surveyed said that paying up front for better energy efficiency would be worth it.
The survey polled 1,830 new-home buyers in the Greater Toronto Area and Ottawa-Carleton this year.
Eighty-four per cent said energy efficiency was important to them, while 90 per cent said their next home would be an energy-efficient one.
Fifty per cent of respondents said the homes they bought were energy-efficient, and 89 per cent said builders should make energy efficiency standard.
Of those who said they'd bought an energy-efficient home, 89 per cent had bought an energy-efficient furnace. Other energy-efficient features were appliances (bought by 79 per cent), windows (66 per cent), lighting (54 per cent), increased insulation (31 per cent), airtight construction (30 per cent), and heat-recovery ventilators (11 per cent).